MUMBAI: It's a project that would straightaway double the number of helicopters in the country. The government-owned Pawan Hans has submitted a Rs 10,030-crore proposal to four central ministries seeking the purchase of 249 helicopters and 10 sea planes and the construction of 180 helipads across India.

The aircraft and helipads would aid tourism, of course.

But, more significantly, they would transform aerial surveillance, law-and-order monitoring and India's response to medical emergencies and natural disasters. They would also make at least 30% of India's districts and many remote areas more accessible.

The project, split into four categories, would be funded with budgetary support from the four ministries. The major portion, a Rs 7,760-crore proposal, has been submitted to the Union ministry of home affairs. The other initiatives include a Rs 1,010-crore proposal sent to the Union ministry of civil aviation, a Rs 1,020-crore proposal sent to the Union ministry of development of the northeastern region and a Rs 240-crore proposal sent to the Union ministry of tourism. Once a ministry passes its respective proposal, it would then be included in its 2012-2017 five-year plan and implementation could begin, said an official at Pawan Hans.

Of the new choppers, 178 would be for disaster management, medical emergencies and law enforcement, another 20 would be specially equipped for air surveillance, 20 would be for tourism and 21 for the North-East. The 10 sea planes would help connect Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

Currently, India has about 250 helicopters in the civil category. Of these, about 20% are engaged in offshore oil rig operations and the rest are with government or charter aircraft operators or are privately owned. Consequently, the role of civil helicopters in the country has been largely limited to ferrying a select category of flyers who include tourists, politicians, medical emergency patients, offshore workers and those travelling to areas inaccessible by road.

"The Pawan Hans project would bring helicopters into the mainstream, so to speak. For instance, the project would introduce highway aerial surveillance in the country," the Pawan Hans official added. So in case of a road accident, a section of a highway could be cordoned off for a helicopter to land and then ferry the victim to a hospital. "It would improve the infrastructure needed to handle emergencies, like earthquakes, floods and so on," the official added.

"The ministry of civil aviation has cleared its part of the project, but the destiny of the proposal rests largely with the ministry of home affairs as its share in the plan is Rs 7,760 crore," said an official. The ministries, including the home ministry, could decide to accept only part of the proposal.

Evidently, the most visible changes would be in law-and-order and surveillance. "Under the proposal submitted to the Union home ministry, 20 fully equipped medium helicopters would be procured to monitor anti-national activities, coastal surveillance and so on," the official said.

Helicopter support would also be provided by initially deploying 178 helicopters so that at least 30% of the total districts in India have access to helicopters.

"These helicopters would be used for disaster management, primary health care, medical evacuation and law enforcement," the official added.

Under the tourism ministry's proposal are plans to acquire 20 helicopters to develop tourist sectors that are otherwise not operational at present because of poor infrastructure. For instance, the Sunderbans region, the Buddhist circuit and so on would be made more attractive for tourists because of time-saving flying options. The Rs 1,020 crore given to the northeastern ministry includes the acquisition of 21 helicopters to enhance connectivity in the northeast.

The proposal given to the Union ministry of civil aviation includes the acquisition of 20 sea planes for inter-island connectivity between Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep and for connecting them to the mainland.

Other than that, the proposal talks of creating infrastructure, like one or more helipad per district in all northeastern states, totaling to around 40 helipads.